Best College Town? Worst? Those Rankings Rankle

Chapel Hill’s barbecue is great. Madison’s State Street—loads of fun. But I’ll take Yonkers.

By

Marek Fuchs

Jan. 28, 2015 7:27 pm ET

As the days get longer and we slip toward spring, high-school seniors will wander that familiar valley of indecision, deciding on which college they should attend. Trouble ahead, though: The college-ranking industrial complex, which has long held outsize influence on public notions of schools, has hit high gear.

Like several other such lists in recent years, Wallethub.com, a website attempting to join the ranks of the influential, posted in December its list of best and worst college towns in 2014. The list was soon picked...